Revelation, 7 May 1831 [D&C 49]

Unto the place which I have appointed behold
I say unto you go forth as I have
commanded

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

you repent of all your sins ask & ye
shall receive knock & it shall be opened unto you behold I will go
before you & be your rearward & I will be in your midst & you
shall not be confounded behold I am Jesus Christ & I come quickly
even so Amen——
[p. 82]

Unto the place which I have appointed behold
I say unto you go forth as I have
commanded

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

you repent of all your sins ask & ye
shall receive knock & it shall be opened unto you behold I will go
before you & be your rearward & I will be in your midst & you
shall not be confounded behold I am Jesus Christ & I come quickly
even so Amen——
[p. 82]

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

Ca. 1781–20 Apr./May 1862. Born in Connecticut. Son of Samuel Copley. Moved to Pittsford, Rutland Co., Vermont, by 1800. Married Sally Cooley. Joined United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (Shakers). Moved to Thompson Township, Geauga Co...

to visit a community of the United Society of Believers in
Christ’s Second Appearing (popularly called Shakers) in North
Union, Ohio. Copley, a recent convert to the
Church of
Christ

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

See
Revelation, 4 Feb.
1831 [D&C 41]. The Copley name was associated with the
United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing from as early as
1803. (De Pillis, “Development of Mormon
Communitarianism,” 124.)

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

Whitmer, History, 26.
Shaker elder Ashbel Kitchell also indicated that
Copley had told the Mormons living in
Thompson, Ohio, that the
Shakers would be converted by the missionary effort. (“Mormon Interview,” 15.)

JS’s history characterized Copley as one who was
“apparently honest hearted, but still retained ideas that the Shakers were
right in some particulars of their faith.” Copley’s retention of some Shaker
beliefs was apparently the catalyst for discussions that prompted this
revelation. JS’s history explained, “In order to have more perfect
understanding on the subject, I [JS] inquired of
the Lord and received the following revelation.”3

JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856.
Vols. A-1–F-1 (original),
A-2–E-2 (fair
copy).
CHL. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death
of Joseph Smith.

The visit
mandated by this
revelation was not the first contact between the two
religious societies. The previous fall,
Oliver
Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

and his missionary companions made initial contact with the
community of Shakers living in North Union.4

Shaker leader Richard
McNemar left an account of
Cowdery’s visit with Shakers living in another
Ohio community
at Union Village, near present-day Lebanon in Warren
County, on his way to preach to American Indian communities west of
Missouri.
McNemar described Cowdery’s preaching and said that he left a copy of the Book
of Mormon with one of their members. (Goodwillie, “Shaker Richard McNemar,”
138–145.)

That interaction had unsettled the Shaker presiding
elder, Ashbel Kitchell, who was uncertain what to make of
the new faith. Despite his uneasiness, Kitchell reported that the Shakers
“continued on friendly terms” with the Mormons “in the way of trade and other
acts of good neighborship untill the spring of 1831.”5

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

Ca. 1781–20 Apr./May 1862. Born in Connecticut. Son of Samuel Copley. Moved to Pittsford, Rutland Co., Vermont, by 1800. Married Sally Cooley. Joined United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (Shakers). Moved to Thompson Township, Geauga Co...

apparently responded the
revelation by immediately departing for the Shaker
settlement at North Union, approximately eighteen miles from
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

Mormon
sources report only briefly the Shakers’ reaction to this revelation and other
teachings by the missionaries.
John
Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

Whitmer, History / Whitmer, John. “The Book of John Whitmer Kept by
Commandment,” ca. 1838–1847.
CCLA.

Kitchell, by contrast, recorded
a detailed account of the visit. He reported that the group “tarried all night,
and in the course of the evening, the doctrines of the cross and the Mormon
faith were both investigated.” The next day, 8
May, Pratt arrived from Kirtland, and the Mormon delegation spoke to
congregated Shakers after their morning Sabbath meeting. Rigdon reportedly
declared to the congregation that “he had a message from the Lord Jesus Christ
to this people” and explained to his hearers that it was a written message.
When he obtained leave of the Shakers, he commenced to read aloud, apparently
verbatim, this revelation. According to Kitchell, the Mormon preachers—Rigdon,
Pratt, and Copley—asked permission to hear how the congregated Shakers felt
about their message. Kitchell wrote that his people indicated “they were fully
satisfied with what they had, and wished to have nothing to do with either them
or their Christ.— On hearing this Rigdon professed to be satisfied, and put his
paper by; but Parley Pratt arose and commenced shakeing his coattail; he said
he shook the dust from his garments as a testimony against us, that we had
rejected the word of the Lord Jesus.”8

Pratt’s actions roused
Kitchell, who recorded, “Before the words were out of his
mouth, I was to him, and said;— You filthy Beast, dare you presume to come in
here, and try to imitate a man of God by shaking your filthy tail; confess your
sins and purge your soul from your lusts, and your other abominations before
you ever presume to do the like again, &c. . . . I then turned to
Leman who had been crying while the message was
reading, and said to him, you hypocrite, you knew better;— you knew where the
living work of God was; but for the sake of indulgence, you could consent to
deceive yourself & them . . . This struck him dead also, and dryed up his
tears;— I then turned to the Believers and said, now we will go home and
started.” (“Mormon
Interview,” 13–14.)

This encounter apparently fulfilled Pratt’s commission to preach to the Shakers
because a revelation dated the following Monday assigned Pratt a different
missionary companion and directed him to “go forth among the Churches &
strengthen them by the word of exhortation.”10

Ca. 1781–20 Apr./May 1862. Born in Connecticut. Son of Samuel Copley. Moved to Pittsford, Rutland Co., Vermont, by 1800. Married Sally Cooley. Joined United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (Shakers). Moved to Thompson Township, Geauga Co...

returned shortly thereafter to North Union and asked to be readmitted into the
Shaker society. Kitchell and Copley then went to Copley’s
farm in
Thompson

Located about twenty miles northeast of Kirtland, Ohio. Settled 1800. Surveyed 1809. Incorporated 1817. Population in 1830 about 700. Population in 1840 about 1,000. Latter-day Saints from Colesville, New York, were directed to settle in area on 759 acres...

and confronted the
Mormons who had recently settled there from
Colesville

Area settled, beginning 1785. Formed from Windsor Township, Apr. 1821. Population in 1830 about 2,400. Villages within township included Harpursville, Nineveh, and Colesville. Susquehanna River ran through eastern portion of township. JS worked for Joseph...

Following
the failed attempt to convert the Shakers at North Union, Mormon missionary
interactions with Shakers were apparently rare.

The
1833 Book of Commandments and the
1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants both
erroneously date this revelation to March
1831. When
John
Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

copied it into Revelation Book 1, likely in
May or June 1831, he dated it
to 7 May 1831. Ashbel
Kitchell copied the revelation into his pocket journal and also
listed its date as 7 May 1831, so his copy likely originated from the same text
that was copied into Revelation Book 1. Kitchell probably either asked to copy
the revelation after
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

recited it to the congregation or obtained a
copy prepared for and left with the Shakers by the missionaries. The first
published version of the revelation, in The Evening and the Morning
Star, listed only May 1831 as the
date.12

“Revelation, Given May, 1831,”
The Evening and the Morning Star, Nov. 1832,
[7].

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

Ca. 1781–20 Apr./May 1862. Born in Connecticut. Son of Samuel Copley. Moved to Pittsford, Rutland Co., Vermont, by 1800. Married Sally Cooley. Joined United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (Shakers). Moved to Thompson Township, Geauga Co...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...